Tried most editors, but still looking for more/better VSDC transitions

[kimmyk]

Hi,

I'm new here so be gentle

I have spent days on end tryiong various video editors to replace my VSDC / Windows movie maker and came across this list, which I tried all:

ivsedit >> weird program, probably more for novice users. I liked the Burn Wipe, which is the reason for my post here
lightworks >> was okay, but after finally trying to export, i needed accounts and there's .mov only i think, which sucks
videopad >> also fine and easy, but my shadows on my Mug just disappeared so i looked at the VSDC that I have been using for a long time already
windows movie maker >> fine for certain movie timelines that i can then import into VSDC


Now back to the question:

I really do like VSDC, but i lacks better/more transitions. There's not even a fade up/down option, just Fade in/out or Wipe (sharp edges).

I really would like some better, more fancy transitions, anybody know if there's a way / place to find more and maybe import them? Or is there a certain skill involved that will actually let me get the desired result?

Something like this e.g. would be awesome:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAAFsGMIEUo

Any tips?

[racer-x]

"Worm Eating" transition in Aviutl.

[poisondeathray]

I really would like some better, more fancy transitions, anybody know if there's a way / place to find more and maybe import them? Or is there a certain skill involved that will actually let me get the desired result?

Something like this e.g. would be awesome:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAAFsGMIEUo

Any tips?

You should be able to use that youtube video as an alpha matte to control the transition, or at least you can in most NLE's that have multiple tracks, including free ones like avitul which racer-x mentioned . Basically any white/black video such as that YT example can be used (and youtube has a gazillion of them for free, or you can make your own). The white areas control transparency, so 100% white is 100% visible. 0% white (or 100% black) is not visible for that affected layer. Shades of grey are intermediate. So it's a very versatile method, you can control any type of "reveal" or "wipe" , such as ink drop, splatter, tears, explosions , even simple ones like linear wipes, radial wipes , ...etc....

I don't know what it's called in vsdc (I played with it a while back, but didn't like it very much) , but some programs call it a "luma matte" , other call it a "luma or alpha mask"

This used the youtube video linked in your post with aviutl

[kimmyk]

Thanks, I'll have a look.

What do you use, 13poisondeathray?

I'll check aviutl as well, never heard of that one.

Edit: I did hear of that program after all, but the "japanese only" notice made me not try at first
Installed it now but it seems very empty, not sure, do I need to install plugins First to be able to get something going? I'm still reading so will update again when i figured it out myself already. Thanks.

Edit II: Found some, on with the learning

[kimmyk]

This used the youtube video linked in your post with aviutl

[Attachment 39872 - Click to enlarge]

I tried really hard to not ask another question, but I just cannot find how to replicate what you did here.
The mask i tried only let me select a scene or an image file, could you fill me in on how you did this?

Other than that, it feel like a nice program once you get the hang of it, i'll try to recreate some videos I made with some PIP in it and such, the alpha channel here are much better than with vdsc.

[poisondeathray]

I tried vsdc again, and it looks like masks are a "pro" feature now. I can't recall if the older free versions had masks available.

Maverick Tse maintains the English version of aviutl . There is a thread for aviutl with tutorials and sample projects on this forum. It's not the easiest or most intuitive software to use (vsdc isn't either). But it's one of the more better freeware "gems" out there

I load the "mask" YT video into a scene (e.g. scene 1) . The "Root" scene can be considered the "main" scene or composition. You apply the mask effect on the layer you want to reveal (in this example it was the "borg" captain, Let's call it "B" , since this is an A=>B transition, where "A" is the "normal" captain). In the mask effect, you set it to scene 1 (or whatever scene you placed the mask in) . If the dimensions don't match (e.g. if the mask is of different dimensions, and you didn't pre resize or maniuplate it) , checkmark "match with original size" . The layer stack order is reversed compared to most other programs. Layers with higher numbers (on the bottom) cover up layers with lower numbers (on the top) . IIRC vsdc was like that too. If you're used to photoshop, after effects, or most NLEs, etc..., it's usually the reverse. So "A" would be on layer 1, "B" on layer 2.

[kimmyk]

Thanks, I'll have a look again. I actually tried it with the Scene 1 option as i saw that was an option with the masking.
VSDC has basic alpha channel features, but not masking that is right. Although i read everywhere that VSDC is not easy, i actually think it is, maybe because i have been using it for a while.

Last question: I am having trouble saving the video's, like a 20 second simple video is over 500mb (30fps), also, it has layers missing and effects are half baked. Exporting to mp3 says the exe file is missing. I installed the INSTALLER 1.13 RELEASE from this url http://www.mavtse.com/wordpress/archives/2371

If all this info is in the thread here on the forum, feel free to ignore the questions as i will most likely come across it.

Thanks again.

[poisondeathray]

I actually use the non installed version . I think "AviUtl_ExtraPack1-10[Win7]Release" is the last one. There have been some reports of people having problems with the installed versions. There are many Japanese users for aviutl, but this forum seems to be the only one that has a handful of English users

You need to apply both video and audio compression to reduce the filesize (otherwise you're exporting uncompressed video) . The most popular option is using the x264adv export . You have to setup the paths for the exe's in the settings

If you've tried figuring things out, but still can't seem to find the solution - don't hesitate to ask . racer-x and maverick are the users on videohelp that are quite familiar with aviutl

[ricardouk]

If only for photos i recomend dvdslideshow gui, it exports to several formats, lots of transitions/effects and you can use video aswell...free

[kimmyk]

If only for photos i recomend dvdslideshow gui, it exports to several formats, lots of transitions/effects and you can use video aswell...free

Thanks for the tip. We mainly use photo slides with PIP for our Facebook ads. We now use a mixture of different programs to get the desired end result.

@55poisondeathray± i tried exporting to x264 but got the path error, i will look into how to find the path and set it. Cheers.

[ricardouk]

dvdslideshow gui is a winner, you can sync audio aswell, there was an older program that worked in a similar way...lets see if i can find...its foto2avi

both will do what you want...

[kimmyk]

Back with questions

Searched quite some time and I just cannot find how to make a certain section (like the YT video for example) move slower so the effect on scene 1 goes slowly and is not done in 1 second (but rather 6s).

Also, the x264 path: where can i fill that in? When i go to File > SETTINGS, i do not see an option anywhere.

Thanks again.

ps. DVD SS did have some nice and usefull effects i can use, thanks.

[racer-x]

Kdenlive has a similar wipe transition, but you'll need to run Linux for that. I pretty much run only Linux these days...

[TimA-C]

You mentioned Windows Movie Maker in your first post, you do know that you can download and re-install Windows Movie Maker in Windows 10? (The same goes for the games that used to come with Windows 7.)

[kimmyk]

I do not use W10, but I still have and use WMM now and then.
All editors combined make for 1 good one

I found out how to slow down certain parts by the way now, it was confusing because the Framerate was 1fps due to the imported images as first frames. Had to increase that and all went better.

I'll get there, now the biggest hurdle is the exporting to mp4, if that remains unsolved i will just import and export using another editor again

[poisondeathray]

RE x264 path:

file => export with plugin => adv x264 export => push video encoding button and a new dialog box will pop open .

In the x264 tab, the top left corner, there you set the directory path for x264.exe. If you push the "..." button, it will open up windows explorer dialog box


You do the same thing with audio; for example if you wanted to use qaac or nero AAC for audio, you "point" to the location of the binary exe (the right half of the adv x264 export settings dialog box has audio settings)

[kimmyk]

RE x264 path:

file => export with plugin => adv x264 export => push video encoding button and a new dialog box will pop open .

In the x264 tab, the top left corner, there you set the directory path for x264.exe. If you push the "..." button, it will open up windows explorer dialog box


You do the same thing with audio; for example if you wanted to use qaac or nero AAC for audio, you "point" to the location of the binary exe (the right half of the adv x264 export settings dialog box has audio settings)

Thanks, found it. Will see if it works out.
Edit: ...and it did, thanks

Been playing around with motion tweens as well, funny stuff.


Edit II: Well, that worked, once. Tried fixing it with verious setting changes but no luck, at all. I think it is because of my alpha channels, could that be? Simple CTRL-S gave me some hentai/japanese comment and did not save either.

#options: 1080x1080 fps=96/5 timebase=5/96 bitdepth=10 cabac=1 ref=1 deblock=1:0:0 analyse=0x1:0 me=dia subme=2 psy=1 fade_compensate=0.00 psy_rd=1.00:0.00 mixed_ref=0 me_range=16 chroma_me=1 trellis=0 8x8dct=0 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=0 threads=6 lookahead_threads=2 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 fgo=0 bframes=3 b_pyramid=2 b_adapt=1 b_bias=0 direct=1 weightb=1 open_gop=0 weightp=2 keyint=250 keyint_min=19 scenecut=40 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=abr mbtree=1 bitrate=1000 ratetol=1.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=81 qpstep=4 ip_ratio=1.40 aq=1:1.00

[poisondeathray]

Thanks, found it. Will see if it works out.
Edit: ...and it did, thanks

Been playing around with motion tweens as well, funny stuff.


Edit II: Well, that worked, once. Tried fixing it with verious setting changes but no luck, at all. I think it is because of my alpha channels, could that be? Simple CTRL-S gave me some hentai/japanese comment and did not save either.

#options: 1080x1080 fps=96/5 timebase=5/96 bitdepth=10 cabac=1 ref=1 deblock=1:0:0 analyse=0x1:0 me=dia subme=2 psy=1 fade_compensate=0.00 psy_rd=1.00:0.00 mixed_ref=0 me_range=16 chroma_me=1 trellis=0 8x8dct=0 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=0 threads=6 lookahead_threads=2 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 fgo=0 bframes=3 b_pyramid=2 b_adapt=1 b_bias=0 direct=1 weightb=1 open_gop=0 weightp=2 keyint=250 keyint_min=19 scenecut=40 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=abr mbtree=1 bitrate=1000 ratetol=1.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=81 qpstep=4 ip_ratio=1.40 aq=1:1.00

Can you be more specific ? It exported correctly only once ?

Was there any error message? or copy/paste the log file of the console output

Alpha channel should have no effect on exporting, because it gets "flattened" or composited to 1 layer before exporting , unless you export RGBA with the intent to preserve the alpha channel (e.g. something like lagarith or ut video codec, ie. a codec that supports alpha channel)

The fps looks a bit weird : 96/5 , also you're using 10bit AVC (it won't be supported by some devices, some software, some websites etc...)

[kimmyk]

Thanks, found it. Will see if it works out.
Edit: ...and it did, thanks

Been playing around with motion tweens as well, funny stuff.


Edit II: Well, that worked, once. Tried fixing it with verious setting changes but no luck, at all. I think it is because of my alpha channels, could that be? Simple CTRL-S gave me some hentai/japanese comment and did not save either.

#options: 1080x1080 fps=96/5 timebase=5/96 bitdepth=10 cabac=1 ref=1 deblock=1:0:0 analyse=0x1:0 me=dia subme=2 psy=1 fade_compensate=0.00 psy_rd=1.00:0.00 mixed_ref=0 me_range=16 chroma_me=1 trellis=0 8x8dct=0 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=0 threads=6 lookahead_threads=2 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 fgo=0 bframes=3 b_pyramid=2 b_adapt=1 b_bias=0 direct=1 weightb=1 open_gop=0 weightp=2 keyint=250 keyint_min=19 scenecut=40 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=abr mbtree=1 bitrate=1000 ratetol=1.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=81 qpstep=4 ip_ratio=1.40 aq=1:1.00

Can you be more specific ? It exported correctly only once ?

Was there any error message? or copy/paste the log file of the console output

Alpha channel should have no effect on exporting, because it gets "flattened" or composited to 1 layer before exporting , unless you export RGBA with the intent to preserve the alpha channel (e.g. something like lagarith or ut video codec, ie. a codec that supports alpha channel)

The fps looks a bit weird : 96/5 , also you're using 10bit AVC (it won't be supported by some devices, some software, some websites etc...)

This is a copy paste of the log, no? (the temp file in the export directory).
The 10 bit is there because i tried that, it was 8 bit before.

With exported only once, was when i tried it first with an exisiting video, this new one was one i quickly made to test the output.

Here's the log:
auo [info]: x264guiEx 2.24 / Windows 7 (x64) / Intel Core i3-2120 @ 3.30GHz (2C/4T)
auo [info]: converting YUY2 -> nv12p, using SSE2 AVX
auo [info]: x264 options...
--crf 20 --qcomp 0.75 --no-mbtree --keyint 240 --min-keyint 4 --bframes 2 --me umh --colormatrix bt709 --frames 0
--input-res 1080x1080 --input-csp nv12 --fps 24/1 -o "E:\OneDrive\808-5.mp4" "-"


I did read something earlier about 32 vs 64 bit windows, but since it exported correctly the first time, i figured it was fine here.

[poisondeathray]

10bit requires a different binary . x264 is compiled for either 8bit vs. 10bit . So you can't "point" to the same .exe that you used for the successful 8bit encode, you'd have to change it . If you mouse over the little boxes and fields, I think there should be tool tips but some things might be lost in translation

[kimmyk]

10bit requires a different binary . x264 is compiled for either 8bit vs. 10bit . So you can't "point" to the same .exe that you used for the successful 8bit encode, you'd have to change it . If you mouse over the little boxes and fields, I think there should be tool tips but some things might be lost in translation

I updatet the exe when i did that.
* edited my previous post to include the log

[poisondeathray]

The binary needs to match too x86 vs x64 . aviutl is x86, so the 10bit binary needs to be x86

Does it export anything ? or just hang ? Describe what happens

Go back and try a quick 8bit test (changing the path again); does that still work correctly?

[poisondeathray]

actually the matching x264 binaries are included in the 7zip file it's in the "3rdParty" folder ,so point to those

another issue is

--frames 0

So maybe you messed up the framerange of the project ? You can use edit => set selection to specify a range, or use the mark in/out buttons in the preview GUI

[kimmyk]

The binary needs to match too x86 vs x64 . aviutl is x86, so the 10bit binary needs to be x86

Does it export anything ? or just hang ? Describe what happens

Go back and try a quick 8bit test (changing the path again); does that still work correctly?

Hi, just tried re-encoding an existing mp4, works just fine.

I'll check the framesettings for that other movie. I'd assume when the preview was looking fine, so would be the output. I'll let you know.

Thanks for the continued help, I appreciate it.

[kimmyk]

actually the matching x264 binaries are included in the 7zip file it's in the "3rdParty" folder ,so point to those

another issue is

--frames 0

So maybe you messed up the framerange of the project ? You can use edit => set selection to specify a range, or use the mark in/out buttons in the preview GUI

Yeeeeh, you were on to something there; it said from 301 to 301. Changed that to From 1 and it is exporting as we speak .


So, we're getting somewhere:
- Learn how to use mask videos with Scenes -> Check
- Get to know transition with different speeds -> Check
- Overlay and Alpha channels -> Check

Any tips on where to find really cool intro effects? I googled and found some, all for AAE. Can you load those into Aviutl?

[racer-x]

Make your own..........

[kimmyk]

Make your own..........

I guess it is coming to that, yes

[poisondeathray]

Any tips on where to find really cool intro effects? I googled and found some, all for AAE. Can you load those into Aviutl?

No, AE projects are not compatible with aviutl

But you can "borrow" ideas and try to recreate them in aviutl or other programs like blender

And "cool intro" is very subjective ; what is "cool" for one person, or theme/story, or content matter - might not be so "cool" for another ...

[racer-x]

Yes, come up with an interesting concept / idea, and you will get a helpful response.

[kimmyk]

Any tips on where to find really cool intro effects? I googled and found some, all for AAE. Can you load those into Aviutl?

No, AE projects are not compatible with aviutl

But you can "borrow" ideas and try to recreate them in aviutl or other programs like blender

And "cool intro" is very subjective ; what is "cool" for one person, or theme/story, or content matter - might not be so "cool" for another ...

Touché.